Just as technology has increased the borders of our markets, it has also increased competition for the best and brightest employees. Employees today seek to work for a company and leaders with whom they feel proud to be associated and who treat them like active contributors, not passive producers.
In a study by the Society for Human Resource Management focusing on employee job satisfaction and engagement, “relationships with immediate supervisor” was ranked more significant to employees than benefits or the organization’s financial stability. Employees want to work for leaders who appreciate the value they add and rely on their passions and talents to every extent possible.
Leaders must acknowledge that workplace culture is a direct reflection of organizational values and the willingness to live out those values in daily behaviour at every level within the organization. A direct influence on workplace culture is the degree to which leaders choose to engage with others. Leaders must make a purposeful decision to create and sustain highly effective relationships with their employees.
Although engagement is a personal matter, influential leaders acquire and practice daily the ‘Positive Presence’ behaviour skill-set to create a culture that promotes a sense of personal ownership, accountability, and responsibility among their team members.
There is a knowledge gap among leaders who lack a deep understanding of the critical role they play between themselves and the behaviour strengths of their employees. People connect and engage with their leader before they connect and engage with their work. The research is clear on this point: the more positive and supportive this relationship, the more engaged and committed people are in their work. 
Influential leaders do not identify with a particular title, nor do they have a designated rank in an organization. Influential leaders are people who take every opportunity – every connection with a coworker, every connection with a client, every connection with the community—to make a positive and meaningful difference. Some people are naturals, but for most of us, leading thru influence – making a positive and meaningful difference — is a learned skill. Three identifiable attributes of an Influential Leader, are:
In today’s workforce the talent pool of technically competent people fluctuates. While everyone still competes to hire people with strong technical skills, it is becoming increasingly clear that performance is a function of both technical skill and behaviour capacity. Furthermore, the increasing stress of the pace of change and organizational complexity has been shown to have a direct effect on behaviour capacity that impacts the effectiveness of technical skill to drive performance. 
Never doubt the impact on performance marked by your presence as a leader. You are, without a doubt, ridiculously in charge of the production and wellbeing of every person you lead, and ultimately, the destiny of your organization. And, without question there is immense pressure on you as a leader in today’s complex, ambiguous and fast-changing work environment. 
The business and professional climates in which you work remain increasingly competitive. Each day competitive markets grow as technology spans the vast array of global industries. These rapidly changing environments are causing ambiguities and confusion about the roles and responsibilities of leaders. 
A relatively new phenomenon in today’s workforce in all developed counties is the presence of five generations of people – silent or traditional (born before 1946), baby boomers, (born approximately between 1946 and 1964), generation X (born approximately between 1965 and 1979), millennial or generation Y (born approximately 1980 and 1994), and generation Z (born approximately 1994 and after). All the generations share strong work ethics and workplace needs, and they all want work that is meaningful and that adds purpose to their lives.
To better illustrate the concept of behavioural preference or style, the following is a brief description of the four categories, using the style names as developed by the Larry Wilson Learning System:
Identifying your own and being aware of others’ behavioural style will contribute to your leadership success in several ways. First, this recognition improves your interaction and communication with others so that your interaction with that person accomplishes its goal. For example, if you know someone has an analytical style, you will adjust the way you talk and act to avoid triggering an emotional reaction in that person. Second, it allows you to showcase or model, and thus teach, the combination of behavioural styles that work best. And third, it gives you an opportunity to play to your strength.
Sometimes you cannot articulate why you like or dislike someone’s behaviour, because often your internal preferences are unconscious. Behaviour preference or style, aka social/communication style, has been around for decades. Basically, everyone falls into one of four styles, frequently set out in a four-quadrant format. In a leadership role, those that share your behaviour style will be easily influenced and motivated by you. That means 75% of the time — three quarters of the people you lead – will need you to adjust and ‘flex’ to their personal behaviour style in order to successfully influence, inspire, and motivate them to a higher level of performance.